News Corp. Q2 Profit Matches Estimates; Adj. Revenues Down 1% - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - News Corp. (NWS, NWSA) reported second-quarter adjusted EPS of $0.19 compared to $0.20 in the prior year. On average, seven analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report profit per share of $0.19 for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Second-quarter loss from continuing operations was $219 million as compared to profit of $106 million in the prior year. Loss per share from continuing operations available to stockholders was $0.50 as compared to profit of $0.15 in the prior year. The company noted that its current year's quarter includes a pre-tax non-cash impairment charge of $310 million, primarily related to the write-down of the fixed assets at the Australian newspapers, and lower equity earnings of affiliates, primarily driven by a $227 million pre-tax non-cash write-down related to the adjustment of the carrying value of the company's investment in Foxtel to fair value. The aggregate tax benefit on the impairment and write-down was $121 million. These charges were partially offset by a gain of $120 million ($103 million, net of tax) from the sale of REA Group's European businesses and higher Total Segment EBITDA. Total Segment EBITDA was $325 million compared to $280 million in the prior year.

The company reported second quarter total revenues of $2.12 billion, compared to $2.16 billion in the prior year period. Adjusted revenues decreased 1% compared to the prior year, as growth in the Digital Real Estate Services and Book Publishing segments was more than offset by lower advertising revenues at the News and Information Services segment. Analysts expected revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter.

Chief Executive Robert Thomson said: "In the second quarter, we saw the efficacy of our strategic reinvestment and digital diversification. Our core platform has been bolstered by our rapid expansion in digital real estate, which is well on the way to becoming the largest contributor to our profitability.This segment posted another very strong quarter, with a 16% year-over-year revenue increase, improved margins and robust audience gains. In News and Information Services, we are assertively transitioning to digital, now accounting for 27% of segment revenues, up from 22%. The Wall Street Journal now has over 2.1 million paid subscribers and, for the first time, more than 50% of those subscribers are digital."

The company declared a semi-annual cash dividend of $0.10 per share for Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock. The dividend is payable on April 19, 2017 to stockholders of record as of March 15, 2017.